1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is basically directed towards a flying splice for attaching the leading end of a roll of replacement material to the trailing end of an expiring roll of material, and is more particularly directed towards a flying splice for attaching the leading edge of a vertically oriented replacement roll of plastic material to the trailing edge of a vertically oriented expiring roll of plastic material to form a continuous film web.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The concept of a flying splice joining the leading edge of a new roll of material onto the trailing edge of an exhausted roll of material is old in the art. One such example is shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,612. This patent discloses an automatic tape splicer in which an elastic member is placed on the outer surface of a removable covering so that a hook member of a splicer head can engage the elastic member to peel off the removable covering permitting adhesive material placed on the roll to be exposed for the splicer.
Two lengths of adhesive tape having both inner and outer surfaces coated with adhesive material are placed on the outer surface of the leading portion of the rolled paper along the tapered edges of the roll. The two lengths of adhesive tape are covered with flexible tapes, preferably made of paper having an inner surface coated with a suitable material which has no affinity to the adhesive material coated on the adhesive tapes. When the elastic member of the supply roll is subsequently engaged by a needle portion of the hook member, the covering is moved away from the peripheral surface of the supply roll causing the corresponding removal of the pair of flexible tapes to expose the adhesive tapes on the tapered surface. The adhesive tapes are placed on the leading edge portion of the paper of the supply paper roll along the tapered edges, and adhere gradually but steadily to the trailing end portion of the expiring paper roll to maintain a continuous web feed completing the splicing operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,198,452 discloses a flying splice apparatus in which the supply roll is cut in a zig zag pattern to provide greater contact area across the web with the splicing tape being applied at an angle with respect to the axis of the roll. A first adhesive is applied to the roll along a portion of the border zone adjacent the leading edge of the new web roll and a second adhesive is then applied to the remaining portion of that zone. Raised non-adhesive strips are secured to the roll in the remaining position of the zone. The roll is rotated by a drive belt which runs over the non-adhesive strips so that the roll will obtain a requisite speed in relation to that of the tensioned web being discharged from the expiring roll to effect a satisfactory splice.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,379,495 discloses a flying splice arrangement in which an air blast emanating from a nozzle is used to start the severed web end around the rotating core roll initiating winding of a new roll. U.S. Pat. No. 1,739,381 utilizes a layer of grease between the top and underlying layers of a leading end of a fresh roll, so as to hold the web end against the roll prior to splicing and eliminate resistance to the end being taken off the running web.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 3,161,367 relates to a flying splice in which a suction transfer roll removes the lead end of the web from a fresh roll and transfers it to the nip to press it against a strip of adhesive applied across the web width by a glue application.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,172,766 is directed to a flying splice arrangement in which the leading edge of a fresh roll of web material has an adhesive strip provided with a shield and held in place by frangible tabs. When the tabs are severed the shield is removed by centrifugal force to expose a tacky adhesive strip. In another U.S. Pat. No. 2,320,657 adhesive shields are provided for covering the tacky adhesive on the leading end of a new roll of web material. These shields are removed at the time of the splice by a retractable transfer roll.
In addition many other patents are directed towards various embodiments of apparatus for flying splices. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,110,976; 2,149,833; 2,386,345; 2,553,928; 3,001,735; and 3,198,452 are all directed to various arrangements of tacky adhesive tabs or strips on a fresh roll to be utilized in a roll replenishing flying splice operation. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,974,490; 3,948,715; 3,920,502; 3,915,399 and 3,895,763 disclose various concepts for splicing the trailing end of an expiring web of an old roll to the leading web of a new roll and are included primarily for purpose of presenting a broader picture of patents in the area of flying splice apparatus and processes.